Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c34.s13.9

v3.c34.s13.9

The English brigade halted at Rāmghāt for 16 days more, and then marched north to a point opposite Anupsahar (30th April.) Before this the Maratha army had abandoned the Rāmghāt position on 28th March and retreated into the Doab, about 25 miles west of it. There was now an open rupture between Visāji and Tukoji, each of them blaming the other for this irreparable failure of Maratha enterprise in Hindustan after three years of effort (Feb. 1770—May 1773.) They lingered in the Etawa-Khurja region for some weeks, making preparations for their departure home. They buried all their heavy guns (the spoils of Pathargarh) near Etawa, and sent off much of their booty ahead, to cross the Jamuna by a bridge of boats at Kālpi.* On 21st April, two wakils sent by the Marathas to treat for peace were introduced by Shujā to General Barker. Shujā satisfied the Marathas by promising that he would take written bonds for 15 lakhs from Hafiz Rahmat and for five lakhs from Ahmad Khan Bangash's son and thus discharge the war indemnity promised by the Afghans to the Marathas a year earlier. [DC.] But no agreement was made by the Ruhelas for paying any subsidy to the Nawab of Oudh for his armed assistance in the Rāmghāt campaign, over and above the forty lakhs promised to him in 1772.†